Passing the Torch

by Firemind

Flying Lessons

Scootaloo walked into Sugarcube Corner, practically buzzing with excitement. Today was the day she gave Pound Cake his first flying lesson. She'd promised years ago that if Pound hadn't learned to fly on his own by his seventh birthday or the day he got his cutie mark – whichever came first – that, as another pegasus child of earth ponies, she would teach him. As he had gotten his cutie mark – a bundt cake with green icing – shortly after his birthday (making him the first in his class to get one), she would have the chance to introduce one of her favorite things to a pony who looked up to her almost as much as she'd looked up to Rainbow Dash at his age.

No sooner than the bell rang to announce the young mare's arrival, Pound ran out of the kitchen. “Hi coach Scootaloo! I'm ready and raring to go! I've been doing all those exercises you showed me at my cutecerina every day! Oh, and I've got a special surprise for you in the oven for when we get back! It's a new experimental recipe! Mom promised to keep an eye on it while we're out, and pull it when it's done!”

“'Coach Scootaloo' … I like the sound of that. Thanks, I appreciate that. Now, before we go, make sure you have a towel or two, and some bottled water.”

“Already on it” the colt replied, grabbing his saddlebag, which was apparently already packed. “Let's go! Where to?”

“The fields between Quills and Sofas and the school. There's a gentle slope that should help, and the wind is just right.”

* * * * *

“Feel, don't think” Scootaloo said, “Feel your magic flowing through you … feel it flow from your heart towards your wings. Feel the winds calling to you.” They'd done some warm-ups, and she'd shown her student a few things to work through on his own in between lessons, and now she decided to get into the heart of things and see how he progressed.

“I … I think I feel it …” Pound Cake replied, his eyes were closed in concentration. “It feels warm … almost like melted butter.”

“Only you would put it in those terms.” The teenage Pegasus smiled broadly to herself. “Try to push the magic out.”

“OK” Pound began to rise as magic both negated some of his mass and gave him lift.

“Way to go! You're a natural. Now how about we try a few flaps, channeling your magic through your wings.”

“Ok, here goes … ” The colt's wings immediately went into overdrive, buzzing furiously, popping him up in the air.

“Slow down, Pound. You're going nowhere fast like that.” Scootaloo knew this particular problem all too well … and how to fix it. “Try it at about one or two wing-beats per second. Slow, powerful strokes.”

“Oops!” Correcting himself, Pound began moving forward, and slowly gained altitude. His teacher took wing behind him, pacing him from below and behind.

“Don't worry about that. It's a common error. I'm just glad we're not having to fix it after you've been doing it for years. Let's take a loop around the school and back for now.” She knew he'd want to push himself a bit, enjoy the thrill of flying unassisted for the first time, and that the route she had in mind was a good distance, if a bit ambitious for a first flight, and had relatively few obstacles. “And don't worry … I'll be right with you the whole way. Think you can handle that?”

“Yeah, no problem!” Pound panted. Despite his enthusiasm, he clearly was starting to get winded, and half the distance to the school still lay ahead of them, to say nothing of the return trip.

“Pace yourself,” Scootaloo reminded him. “No sense in wearing yourself out.”

“OK” … Pound did indeed slow down, his face set in determination. They swung around Ponyville Elementary and turned back. By the time they were halfway back, he was obviously running out of steam. “My wings ache, coach. Help me land.”

“Alright, it's fairly easy … step one is to slow down and slowly lose altitude; just glide for now, angle down a little more.” She beamed watching him follow through. “Almost there … we're almost down to ground level, this part can get a bit tricky … you're going to start running in the air while descending … just like that. And just turn your glide into a run.”

Pound managed it with only a couple missteps, decelerating as quickly as he could. “That … was … awesome” he managed in between breaths.

“Yeah, it was … you did great! You just did in half an hour what took me six months. “

“Really?! You're joking?” The colt fished a water bottle out of his saddlebags and drank greedily.

“Nope … of course, most of that was me breaking all of the bad habits I picked up before I started getting lessons. Oh, and don't overdo it on the water right now.”

“OK. Glad I have an awesome coach, then.”

“Now, let's work through some cool-down exercises, then we can go enjoy the surprise you mentioned earlier.”

* * * * *

Pound led Scootaloo back into Sugarcube Corner, a towel over his back and another in his mane, and his exuberance plainly obvious. “Ok, I'll work on practicing takeoffs and landings, continue the exercises you showed me, and all that stuff between now and next Moon's Day. I promised you the first taste of an experiment that Aunt Pinkie and I came up with; it's more of a new twist on the familiar than anything groundbreaking … it should be just about ready to eat by now.” One glance at the counter showed that it was indeed ready, and labeled “Pound's Experiment; not for sale YET” - the last word was obviously Pinkie's addition to a sign his mother had made.

“A key lime pie? Stars, yes!” Scootaloo's mouth watered in anticipation, knowing that her young student had inherited his parents' ability in the kitchen, as well as bringing his boundless creativity and enthusiasm to bear on whatever culinary project he set himself on. “That sounds awesome!”

“Aunt Pinkie and I kicked it up a notch,” The colt could not resist quoting a rather famous Unicorn chef. “I'm going to have a piece too, that workout made me hungry.” He cut two slices out of the pie and put each on a plate. Setting both on a tray, he told Scootaloo to have a seat before going into the back to retrieve two glasses of milk. Carrying the tray over to the table that the Crusaders had claimed as their own years before (and still used to this day), he joined her. “Go on … try it … let me know what you think!”

Scootaloo noticed flecks of something reddish in the pie as she took her first bite, noticing a surprising but oddly familiar undertone to the pie. “What's the red stuff?”

“Habanero peppers” He replied, just as the heat kicked in. Steam poured out of the mare's ears and nose, right before she chugged her entire glass of milk.

“Not bad” The orange Pegasus managed weakly, “Next time, warn me ahead of time if you put something spicy in something. Normally, I can handle spice just fine if I know it's there, but that really caught me off guard!”

“OK. Hey Mom? Can you get Scootaloo some more milk please?”

“Sure! I take it the pie was a bit much.” Cup Cake had apparently anticipated the reaction, and was soon at the table carrying a pitcher of milk.

“Nah, that was awesome! Thanks. I just wasn't ready for it.” As the blue mare turned to walk back behind the counter, Scootaloo made a quick request. “Could I get four maple icing rolls to go? Applebloom's been having a rough week, and I want to do something nice for her.”

“Sure, I'll get them ready for you”

“Speaking of Applebloom … “ Pound began, unsure of himself for the first time that evening, “Pumpkin asked me to ask you something. She's been jealous of me since I got my cutie mark, and wants to start the Cutie Mark Crusaders back up with some of her friends, if that's OK with all of you. Is it?”

“Tell her that I don't mind. Am I going to have to ask the girls, or is somepony else going to?”

“Uh, I think they have somepony else handling that. Pumpkin told me, but I can't remember who right now.”

“Cool. The more I think about it, the more I think that sounds like a great idea … and we really need to do something awesome to pass the torch.”